By Anthony Newes

In case you haven’t heard, Ed Ackerson is a pretty busy fellar.  Not only does he own and operate a recording studio in Minneapolis called Flower Studios (it was once a flower shop), but he also runs a local record label too, Susstones Records. Oh, and let’s not forget that he fronts the local band Polora on top of that; a group that’s had a 4-record run on Interscope records.  So…right about this time you might be thinking to yourself “Is he a friggin’ meth addict or something?”  Probably not.  “Well, does his family shows signs of obsessive compulsive behavior?”   It’s possible (the guys got like 40 guitars and basses of all sorts’ o varieties, not to mention a keyboard collecting problem).  You then ask, “Well, what’s his deal then?”  My guess of guesses is he’s just a passionate guy with a love of music.  This brings us to his second solo record which he calls ‘Ed Ackerson2’.

Firstly, Ed does everything on this record.  The writing, recording, producing and performing are all done by him.  Not too shabby Ed Ackerson.  It’s filled with catchy melodies and harmonies throughout its 12-song length and I got to be completely honest with ya, it kind of reminds me of George Harrison, especially his melodies and guitar solos (See track #7).  There’s some fairly folky schtuff on this disc too.  Ed shows off his gentle finger-picking side on ‘Biography Blues’, which is then followed up by the almost, dare I say, Jerry Garcia-esque ‘Run Away With Me’ where he plays the banjo, acoustic guitar and, I’m pretty sure, the melodica  (bastard son of the accordion).  The whole record is a bit outside of his normal Polara flavor, but it works out in his favor from beginning to end.  I gotta say it seems like he might be exposing a side of himself that he’s been waiting to show for a while.  On that note, let’s end this review with a word from Ed himself: “In a lot of ways this record is about me exploring my pre-noise roots, sixties stuff, like Beatles, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel—the first material I learned to play on guitar.”  So there you have it.  Now go buy.

www.edackerson.com

Filed under: Music Reviews